Inter face fierce rivals AC Milan in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals on Tuesday night after both sides produced disappointing Serie A results at the weekend.
League leaders Stefano Pioli suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Atalanta and Inter were forced to a frustrating draw at Udinese. Although the Scudetto remains the top priority for both, thoughts of ending Juventus’ dominance will be temporarily put aside for the second Derby della Madonnina of the season.
Inter, have you been Zlataned? ⚫#InterMilan #SemperMilan pic.twitter.com/dMgjmmhaPb
– AC Milan (@acmilan) October 17, 2020
The last time either club won Coppa Italia was in 2011, when Inter triumphed over Palermo at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. When the duo met in the league this season, it was the Rossoneri who came out on top, Zlatan Ibrahimovic scoring a brace.
Here is 90 minutes preview of this quarter-final of the cup which should be a cracker …
What time is the kick off? 7:45 p.m.
Where is it played? San Siro (Stadio Giuseppe Meazza)
TV channel? BT Sport 3 (UK)
Arbitrator? Paolo Valeri
Inter will still be without injured Danilo D’Ambrosio, but Antonio Conte doesn’t have any new injury issues ahead of him.
AC Milan are missing Gianluigi Donnarumma due to suspension, so Ciprian Tatarusanu is expected to replace him. Alessio Romagnoli is expected to return to the defense, but Pioli will still be without key midfielders Hakan Calhanoglu and Ismael Bennacer.
Inter: (3-5-2): Handanovic; Bastoni, De Vrij, Skriniar; Perisic, Gagliardini, Brozovic, Barella, Young; Martinez, Lukaku.
AC Milan: (4-2-3-1): Tatarusanu; Calabria, Romagnoli, Kjaer, Hernandez; Tonali, Kessie, Castillejo, Diaz, Leao; Ibrahimovic.
Inter
Udinese 0-0 Inter – series A – 23/1
Inter 2-0 Juventus – series A – 17/1
Fiorentina 1-2 Inter – Coppa Italia – 13/1
Roma 2-2 Inter – series A – 10/1
Sampdoria 2-1 Inter – series A – 6/1
AC Milan
AC Milan 0-3 Atalanta – series A – 23/1
Cagliari 0-2 AC Milan – series A – 18/1
AC Milan 0-0 Torino (AC Milan wins 5-4 on penalties) – Coppa Italia – 12/1
AC Milan 2-0 Turin – series A – 9/1
AC Milan 1-3 Juventus – series A – 6/1
Having lost to Juventus and Atalanta since the start of the year, it’s fair to say that AC Milan have struggled on big occasions lately. Inter, having beaten the reigning champions just eight days ago, reportedly hoped to continue at Udinese but that was not the case.
The pair have become somewhat inconsistent in recent weeks, making this one even more difficult to follow. As mentioned, Coppa Italia is by no means the priority of the two teams this season, but the fact that they have been drawn against each other adds a greater meaning.
Inter’s strength at depth and fewer personnel issues right now should give them the edge – I lean slightly towards the Nerazzurri to gain the upper hand.
Prediction: Inter 1-0 AC Milan
